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A close look at the education system reveals that too much attention is attached to text while visuals, such as pictures and cartoons, are often deemed as “decoration”, or are not incorporated in the textbooks at all. Visual texts constitute a part of daily communication, which can potentially bear many layers of meaning. Such a complexity involved in visuals turns them into an ideal resource for not only L2 learning but also the improvement of intercultural communicative competence (ICC), along with cultural awareness. The status of cultural elements and representation of culture in English instruction has proved to be a tricky issue. This is mainly because of the diverse range of contexts where English is used on an international scale globally. Given the integral relationship between language and culture, it is essential to teach cultural elements in L2 classes, in particular, the representation of cultural values and elements as an integral part of the L2 curriculum of English language teaching (ELT). Furthermore, from a critical linguistics viewpoint, language textbooks should be viewed as social and cultural vehicles. Therefore, the incorporation of cultural symbols and raising cultural awareness are considered essential issues in ELT textbooks, particularly in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL). Furthermore, multiple approaches to the analysis of textbooks and cultural contents have been adopted by different researchers. Here, the present study is based on the core principles of semiotic analysis which implies that texts, pictures, and other modes of communication can be used as potential semiotic resources. This review study can yield important theoretical and pedagogical implications for researchers, L2 instructors, and the developers of ELT textbooks to take the images into account to represent culture in the textbook.


 

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Degraded soils in Northwest China are mostly nonproductive due to imbalanced nutrient and inadequate water supply. The effects of manure application at three different rates (7.5, 15.0, and 22.5 t ha^–1) combined with chemical fertilizers on soil water and Water-Use Efficiency in maize [compared with chemical fertilizers (control)], under semi-arid conditions in dark Loessial soil and over a period of four years were studied to provide scientific support for water management. High manure application significantly reduced soil water evaporation throughout the fallow period as compared with control. It significantly increased soil water storage capacity at the big trumpet growth stage of the crop, and with the fertilization application years continued (P< 0.05). Manure application improved soil water holding capacity at the tasseling and grain filling stages. It decreased evapotranspiration at the jointing–big trumpet and tasseling–grain filling stages. It as well improved Water-Use Efficiency by 16.67 to 295.42% at the jointing–big trumpet stage vs. 9.38-68.96% at the tasseling-grain filling stage and 8.51 to 36.58% for the whole growth period of the crop maize. With a continuation of the fertilizer application years, water-use efficiency at the tasseling-grain filling stage was significantly improved with increasing manure application rates (P< 0.05). Medium and High Manure application rates significantly increased water-use efficiency at the big trumpet–tasseling and grain filling-maturity stages as compared with control (P< 0.05). With manure application years continued, soil nutrient was no longer the major factor limiting the crop’s water-use efficiency. The most promising manure application rate adopted to improve water-use efficiency was recorded as 15.0 t ha^–1.

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Misuse or excessive use of chemical fertilizers cause non-point source pollution in the vegetable production system. Fertilizer is a key factor affecting nutrient absorption and biomass production of vegetables. However, there is little information on the role of Compound Effective Microorganisms (CEM) in vegetable production. In field trials, three fertilizer treatments were used to study their effects on the growth characteristics and quality of lettuce, spinach, and pakchoi. There were five treatments in the experiment including Control Treatment (CK), 0.3% (Mass volume ratio: w/v) of urea: Water (T₁), 0.3% (w/v) of compound fertilizer: Water (T₂), CEM fertilizer was diluted to 1: 1,000 (CEM fertilizer: Water, Volume ratio: v/v) before application (T₃), 1: 500 (CEM fertilizer: Water, v/v) (T₄), 1: 100 (CEM fertilizer: Water, v/v) (T₅). Ten representative plants were selected for each treatment to measure plant growth performance. Compared with the control, the plant height gradually increased after applying fertilizer during the entire growth period of the plant. Total leaf chlorophyll concentration of the CEM treatment was also significantly higher than the control treatments. CEM led to an increase in leaf area and leaf number. The effect of EM fertilizer on vegetable growth and yield was studied. In T₄ treatment, spinach had the highest plant fresh yield, which was 15.60 g plant^-1. Under different fertilizer treatments, the yield of pakchoi varied greatly, while under T₅ treatment, the yield of pakchoi increased significantly. The maximum yield of pakchoi in T₅ treatment was 30.66 g plant^-1. The yield of lettuce in T₃ treatment was the highest, 12.32 g plant^-1. CEM could maintain productivity of green vegetable and contained a variety of beneficial bacteria. The cultivation of EM increased the yield of plants and increased the growth of vegetables. In conclusion, these results showed that vegetables could produce high yield and high quality through CEM management.